London Olympic Committee expresses support for Pride House 2012
Chief Executive Paul Deighton sees the venue as part of LOCOG’s commitment to diversity and inclusion

Pride House 2012 has received a warm letter of support (see below) from Paul Deighton, Chief Executive of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Mr Deighton writes: “As part of the legacy of the Games, we hope that our work across Diversity and Inclusion will have raised the bar for major sporting events and helped to increase the profile for [the] LGBT community in sport across the world. Hosting Pride House offers London and the UK a unique opportunity to present itself as a cosmopolitan and inclusive city and country which welcomes the world’s diverse communities and creates a safe sporting environment for LGBT athletes.”

Pride House 2012 is a project of Pride Sports UK, in collaboration with the European Gay and Lesbian Sports Federation, the Federation of Gay Games, GLISA International, the LGBT Consortium, and the Pride House Foundation and aims to offer a welcoming space for all athletes, staff, spectators and friends of London 2012. Pride House 2012 will be open from 3 to 7 August at CA House in Limehouse Basin on the river Thames, with the Pride House 2012 festival continuing in various venues through 12 August, the day of the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games.

Lou Englefield, Pride Sports UK Executive Director, stated: “ Pride Sports has been working with LOCOG for the past three years on a variety of projects to improve the inclusion of LGBT people in organised sport. This message of support from Paul Deighton for Pride House, along with the ongoing support from Diversity and Inclusion Director Stephen Frost, is a great boost as we try to meet the challenge of relaunching Pride House in a limited timeframe.”

Armelle Mazé, co-president of the European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation, described the Olympic connection to one of the highlights of Pride House 2012, the exhibition entitled “Against the Rules’. The exhibition, supported by the European Union, presents the history of LGBT sport through profiles of pioneering athletes: “Among those profiled are many Olympians, including of course Tom Waddell, the founder of the Gay Games, diver Greg Louganis, and others. Their Olympic status adds impact to the message of their life stories, and we are pleased to be able to present these portraits here during the Olympic Games.”

Marc Naimark, Federation of Gay Games Vice President for External Affairs, has been the lead contact between the FGG and LOCOG: “Our relations began thanks to Lou Englefield, and have been very productive. The FGG supported LOCOG’s launch of the rainbow Olympic pin, and their calls for LGBT volunteers and volunteer trainers, which have been quite successful. Just last weekend the FGG adopted language on diversity and inclusion in the operations of our host committees inspired by LOCOG policy. Of course, there is still a long way to go at future Olympics. For example, the FGG wholeheartedly supported the inclusion of a comprehensive LGBT page in the 2012 Olympics athlete guide, and this hasn’t happened. This would have been a great way for LGBT athletes to know they are not alone”

Paul Brummitt, Secretary of the Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association, said: “The Olympic movement proclaims the practice of sport as a human right. Pride House is a call to make that human right a reality for all, whatever their gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation. We want to welcome staff, suppliers, and volunteers from LOCOG to come and be part of Pride House 2012. We also hope to see representatives from the major international sporting bodies at Pride House. It will be an excellent opportunity to discuss how we can help to improve inclusion.

Scheduling for Pride House 2012 is in progress, and suggestions are welcome. Pride House 2012 welcomes all offers of help, whether financial, in kind, or for volunteers.

Letter of Support from the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) for Pride House 2012

At LOCOG, we are delighted that Pride House will be taking place during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. We have aimed to make diversity and inclusion a key differentiator of our Games, celebrating the many differences among the cultures and communities of the United Kingdom and around the world. LOCOG is committed to embed equality throughout the organisation and ensuring that the London 2012 Games are truly inclusive.

As such, we are delighted to be taking part in the World Pride this Summer and would like to offer our support to all the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other athletes and individuals who will be involved and wish the organisers of the House the very best of luck in delivering a successful venue.

As part of the legacy of the Games, we hope that our work across Diversity and Inclusion will have raised the bar for
major sporting events and helped to increase the profile for LGBT community in sport across the world. Hosting Pride House offers London and the UK a unique opportunity to present itself as a cosmopolitan and inclusive city and country, which welcomes the world’s diverse communities and creates a safe sporting environment for LGBT athletes.

With kind regards,

Paul Deighton
Chief Executive

Lead partner:
Pride Sports, a social enterprise for the development of LGBT sport: pridesports.org.uk

Supporting partners:

EGLSF, the European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation, bringing together over 300 European LGBT sports: eglsf.info

FGG, the Federation of Gay Games, the governing body of the Gay Games, the largest international sport and culture event open to all: pridehouse.gaygames.org

Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association, the governing body of the World Outgames: glisa.org

LGBT Consortium (the Consortium of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Voluntary and Community Organisations) is a national specialist infrastructure and membership
organisation that focuses on the development and support of LGBT groups, organisations and projects: lgbtconsortium.org.uk
LGBT London, an online portal for LGBT Londoners with information about local LGBT organisations: lgbtlondon.com

Pride House Foundation, a foundation to raise awareness about homophobia in sport, encourage healthy and active lifestyles and promote diversity and inclusion on a global scale: pridehousefoundation.org